The Upper Brazos

Generally regarded as one of the most scenicsections of the Brazos River in North Texas is the 20 miles between Texas 16 and 4 in Palo Pinto County. "It loops and coils snakishly from the PossumKingdom dam down between the rough lowmountains of the Palo Pinto country," said John Graves in "Goodbye to a River," a novel about the author's three-week canoe trip down the Brazos in which he weaves tales about the Kiowas, Comanches and white men who have inhabited its shores.

For many outdoor enthusiasts, the Brazos Riveroffers hundreds of miles to fish, frolic and travellike 19th Century French voyageurs.Spanish explorers originally named it Brazos deDios, meaning "Arms of God" because of itsnumerous tributaries. Beginning in Stonewall County where DoubleMountain Fork and Salt Fork join, the BrazosRiver picks up its Clear Fork in Young County,Texas. Approximately 840 miles long, the Brazos River meanders south through Texas until it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico near Freeport, Texas, in Brazoria County.